Questions

Humanities in Medicine

There are forces that subtly (and not so subtly) erode the traditional patient-physician relationship and reduce physician satisfaction. These forces are not all intrinsically bad; many reflect positive technological advances in the battle against disease. Some forces are economic, representing efforts to maintain the financial solvency of a patient’s choice-oriented model of health care. Others actually reflect attempts to preserve our own sense of humanity, a particularly important goal as young physicians mature through professional adolescence (residency training).

But increased reliance on sophisticated imaging and testing techniques can reduce time spent in thoughtful direct patient interaction. Ubiquitous support staff and phlebotomy teams increase efficiency, but reduce the number of opportunity moments for physical contact and discussion between physician and ill patient. Shortened outpatient visits and hospital stays, increased paperwork, enforced limited work hours and more team coverage further diminish face time with our patients. Use of electronic charting reduces chat time and eye contact in the office. And as the patient is progressively moved away from the doctor’s gaze and touch, human aspects of patient care may wither, including the sense of connection between physician and patient. Rewards from interacting with our patients as people become elusive.

As one of many efforts to stem this withering of the joy of patient care and to increase the appreciation of the special role we are permitted to play as physicians, we offer our Medical Humanities Program. The program provides various venues to reflect on our personal practice of medicine and on our profession. We hope these different presentations will encourage reflection upon various aspects of medicine, the patient as person, our growth as physicians and individuals, and about health care delivery in general.

Our aggressive and ongoing pursuit of medical knowledge, efficiency, and financial responsibility easily competes with history, literature, religion, music, poetry, and ethics; the very things that personally enrich us as physicians. As we build research networks and encourage the maturation of physician scientists, we should not ignore introspective aspects of our interactions with patients, and our connections with the past. We should weave the threads of self-assessment and reflective practice into a shawl that we can comfortably wear throughout our professional lives.

This program provides various venues to reflect on our personal practice of medicine and on our profession. We hope these different presentations will encourage reflection upon various aspects of medicine, the patient as person, our growth as physicians and individuals, and about health care delivery in general.

Humanities Upcoming Events

Date

Title

Time

Guest

Credentials

Thursday, March 5, 2015

The Little Children May Be Bitten: Congenital Syphilis, Devastating Cures, and Dracula

Durant Professor of Medicine
Temple University School of Medicine
Philadelphia, PA

Thursday, May 21, 2015

hx of Neurology and Neurosurgery at the end of the Civil War

Noon – 1 p.m.
NA5-3/4

Mark Stillman, MD

Neurological Center for Pain
Cleveland Clinic

Humanities Previous Events

Date

Title

Time

Guest

Credentials

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Hippocrates Cafe

7:30 am - 8:30 am
Medicine Grand Rounds, Bunts Auditiorium

Jon Hallberg, MD

Associate professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
Medical director, University of Minnesota Physicians Mill City Clinic
Creator and host, Hippocrates Cafe
University of Minnesota Medical School

Thursday, October 9, 2014

“Van Gogh: A Medical History of Bipolar Disorder & Suicide”

Noon – 1 p.m.
NA5-3/4

Joseph R. Calabrese, MD

Bipolar Disorders Research Chair & Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Mood Disorders Program
University Hospitals Case Medical Center
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Thursday, October 30, 2014

“Between Liberal Medicine and Conservative Care: The History and Politics of Pain Relief in America”

Noon – 1 p.m.
NA5-3/4

Prof. Keith Wailoo

Vice Dean; Townsend Martin Professor of History and Public Affairs
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Princeton University

Thursday, February 27, 2014

“A Maestro’s Heart: Gustav Mahler’s Cardiac Disease“

Noon – 1 p.m.
NA5-3/4

Gregory W. Rutecki, MD

Staff, Internal Medicine
National Consult Service
Cleveland Clinic

Thursday, November 21, 2013

“Recapturing the Calling: Mindfulness in Practice“

7:30 - 8:30 a.m.
Medicine Grand Rounds
Bunts Auditorium

Michael J Baime, MD

Penn Program for Mindfulness
Abramson Cancer Center
University of Pennsylvania Health System
Philadelphia, PA

Thursday, October 18, 2012

"Peru Health Outreach Project: Notes from the field"

Noon - 1 p.m.
NA5-3/4

Clark Madsen
Vipan Nikore, MD

Cleveland Clinic Internal Medicine

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

"Cancer Therapy with Neutrons: A Case Study of Failure"

Noon - 1 p.m.
NA5-08

Gerald Kutcher, MD

Professor, History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Ph.D., History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge
Ph.D. Physics, City University of New York

Thursday,
May 10, 2012

"The End of the World? Social and Political Responses to Bubonic Plague in the Middle Ages"